1. Field
The present disclosure relates generally to composite parts and, in particular, to a method and apparatus for obtaining information about composite parts. Still more particularly, the present disclosure relates to a method and apparatus for obtaining information about plies in a layup of plies for a composite part.
2. Background
Aircraft are being designed and manufactured with ever increasing percentages of composite materials. Some aircraft may have more than 50 percent of its primary structure made from composite materials. Composite materials are used in aircraft to decrease the weight of the aircraft. This decreased weight improves performance features, such as payload capacities and fuel efficiencies. Further, composite materials provide longer service life for various parts in an aircraft.
Composite materials are strong, light-weight materials, created by combining two or more dissimilar components. For example, a composite may include fibers and resins. The fibers and resins are combined and cured to form a composite material.
Further, by using composite materials, parts of an aircraft may be created in larger sections with fewer pieces, eliminating many fasteners. For example, the fuselage of an aircraft may be created in cylindrical sections with integral stringers. Another example is a stabilizer of an aircraft which may be created as a single piece incorporating spars and upper and lower skins with integral stiffeners.
Rework of composite parts may be needed when inconsistencies are present in the composite parts. When performing rework on composite parts for aircraft, ply layup data, such as an identification of the number of plies, orientation of each ply, the location of each ply within the composite part, the ply material, and the cured part thickness, is needed to replace the material to be reworked.
In some instances, two-dimensional drawings may be present in a manual. Details of composite parts in these drawings include ply layup and part thickness data. This information includes an identification of each ply, the orientation of the ply, the location of the ply in the layup, the ply material, as well as thickness information for the part itself. This type of data is typically used to perform rework on composite parts. These drawings may be hard to find or difficult to interpret. Also, the drawings may not convey information about the layers of plies. As a result, maintenance, such as reworking a part, may take more time and have increased costs.
Therefore, it would be advantageous to have a method and apparatus that takes into account at least some of the issues discussed above, as well as possibly other issues.